Weft-cutting mechanism for looms



Mar. 13, 1923. 1,448,660

- H. H. GOVE WEFT CUTTING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Mar. 20, 191? 2 sheets-sheet l ll'jllllmhhllhlllllfi i r W 6 a w Mar. 13, 1.923. 1,448,660 H. H. GOVE WEFT CUTTING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Mar. 20, 1917 2 sheets-sheet 2 I Patented Mar. 13, 1923.

rreo sTATEsr-ATENT OFFICE.

HENRY H. eovn, or ninnnronn, MAINE; onaanor'rn a. GOVE, ADMINISTRATBIX or sun HENRY n. GOVE, nncnasnn, assxen nor ONE-HALF TO HOWARD a. warm- HEAD, on SACO, MAINE.

WEFT-CUTTING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS.

Application filed March 2 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY H. Grove, a citizen of the United States, residin at Biddeford, in the county of York and btate 5 of Maine, have invented certain Improvements in Weft-Cutting Mechanisms for" Looms, of which the following description,

in connection with the accompanying draw-,;

ings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to weft-cutting mechanisms for automatic looms, that is, looms in which the weft in the working shut v 't1e is automatically replenishedjust before it otherwise would become exhausted. In

the looms of this type now on the market,

it is usual to'employ two cutting or parting mechanisms at the weft-replenishing side of the loom. One of these mechanisms usually is supported by the temple and is positioned close to the selvage edge of the cloth while" the other is located close to the shuttle-box.'

It is necessary of course to out two threads at each weft-replenishing operatlon, namely,

the weft carried by the spent bobbin whichis ejected from the shuttle by the bobbinchanging or weft-replenishing mechanism and the weft end of the new bobbin that is inserted in the shuttle by said mechanism. Usually the temple cutter isoperatedcontinuously, while the other cutter is operated only during the relatively brief period in which the weft-replenishing operation isbeing effected, provision being made for bringing the weft thread within'theirange of operation ofthe temple cutter only- .when it" is desired to have the thread severed. -Itis obvious that this arrangement isrelatively 40 complicated and that the wear on thetemple cutter is extremely rapid. With these'iconsiderations in view, it LlS the'generalbbject of the present inventionto devise a weft-cutting mechanism which will be simple'in con- 4 struction, reliable in operation and will be so organized and arranged that it will not be subject to rapid wear or deterioration.

To this end the invention comprises, inits preferred form, a single cutterlocated close to the selvage of the cloth atthe weft-re:

0,11917. Serial No. 156,174.

val necessary to enable it to cut the end portions of the weft carried by both the spent and the full bobbins.

The invention will be. readily understood 3 from the following description reference being made to the accompanying drawings in Which: Fig. 1 is a plan view showing only those partsof an automatic loom necessary to an understanding of this invention;

F1g. 2 is a vertical cross sectional view takensubstantially on the plane indicated by the line 2-2,' Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view on a. relatively large scale showing the more important parts of the cutting mechanism;

Fig. A is a vertical cross'sectiorial view f-through the mechanism shown in Fig. 3; and

F1gs. 5 and 6 arerear elevations of a part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3 showing the relative positions of the parts.

In the drawings 2 indicates the lay, 4 the shuttle-box atthe weft-replenishing side of the loom, 6 the shuttle, 8 the breast beam and 10 the temple. All these parts are arranged in the usual way, the construc- -.ti on shown being that of the Northrop loom whi'chis widely used in the trade. In this type of loom the weft-replenishing mechanism comprises a feeler mechanism in combination with a bobbin-changing mechajn'ism so arranged as to be brought into operation by the action of the feeler mechanism. A rock shaft 12 connects these two mechanisms, and the arrangement is such I that-when the feeler mechanism detects the fact that the weft on the bobbin in the working shuttle is nearly exhausted, it rocks the shaft 12 and brings the bobbin-changing mechanism into operation, which acts automatically to eject the spent bobbin from the shuttle and replaces it with a full bobzbin. All this mechanism is so well known to those skilled in this art, that any further description of this mechanism-or any illus- ;-tration of it-is unnecessary for the purpose of clearly disclosing the present invention.

It i'sobvious that when the spent bobbin is ejected from'the shuttle 6 the weft or i filling thread is still attached to the cloth and extends from the selvage of the cloth to "5' the shuttle-box 4. It is, of course, necessary cutter only during the relatively brief iiiter zj tozsever this thread preferably, close to the the normal operation of. the machine.

selvage of the cloth. When the full bobbin has been inserted in the shuttle and the shuttle has made its first pick, the end portion of this new filling thread extends from the point on the hopper or magazine at which it is fastened to the selvage of the goods, and this thread also must be severed. It is, therefore, necessary merely to have-the weft-cutting mechanism operate twice at each weftreplenishing operation, once to cut the weft end of the old or spent bobbin, and the other to sever the end portion of the thread carried by the new or full bobbin. The mechanism herein described for the purpose of clearly disclosing this invention is arranged to operate automatically upon the initiation of the weft-replenishing action to make the two cuts required for this purpose and then to stop automatically.

This mechanism comprises a cutter supported on the temple 10 and consisting of a stationary blade 14, secured fast tothe temple, and a movable blade 16 pivoted' 'to the blade .14 so that the two blades form a pair of shears. h These blades normally are held in their open position by means ofat spring 18. The blades 14 and .16, when they are open, lie just behind the apex of the shed so that there is no danger of their cut;

ting or chafing the filling or weft during" The cutter is operated by an actuating device 20 which is slidably mounted, on the. lay and has a part shaped to engage ,a downwardly curved arm .01 tail piece 22* which is adjustably secured to the movable blade 16 of the cutter bya screw and slot connection, indicated at 24 (Fig. 4). As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the part 20 is notched, as indicated at 25, so that when this notch is opposite the tail piece 22 of the shears the actuator cannot operate the shears.

Since it is desired to have the cutter or shears work at certain times only during the operation of the machine, a mechanism is provided which maintains the-actuator 20 normally out of its co-operative relationship to the shears. The actuatoris shown in this position in Fig. 3. This mechanism comprises a block 26, to the upper side of which the actuator 20 is rigidly secured; a rod 27 'on which the block 26 is fixed and which is arranged to slide longitudinally through bearings 28 and 28 fastened to a plate 29 that is secured to the front face of the lay 2; and a spring 30 which encircles the rod 27 and bears at one end againstthe bearing 28, (Fig. 3) and at its opposite end against a collar 31 fast on the r0d27. An other collar 32, adjustably secured to said rod, is arranged to engage the bearing member 28' and limit the movement of the rod 2 27 and the block 26 under the influence of the spring 30. It is obvious that since the weft-replenishing mechanism. For this purpose a rock shaft 12, which as above stated, is normally stationary, but is'rocked in a counter-clockwise direction (see Fig. 2) in order to throw the bobbin-changing mechanism into operation, has fixed to it .an arm 35, the forward .end of which is bent or .defiected to the right, as shown in Figs. 2

and 3. A'lever'36, pivoted to the right hand end of the rod 27 and fulcrumed on a stud-37 c'arriedby a'bracket 38 which is secured to the bottom of the lay 2, as shown in.-;:Fig. 2, normally lies above the arm 35. But,i.when-this arm is swung upwardly by Qthe rocking movement of' tlfe shaft 12, as

above :described, the bent forward end of the arm zlS brought into a position beside andsclose to the pat h 'of movement of the lower endof'the lever 36. This rocking movement of the shaft 12 and arm 35 takes place when the'lay'is at the forward part of its stroke and consequently, when the lay -,1-swings,back, the contact of the lever 36 with the bent end ofI'tlie arm 35 will rock the-lever about itsfulcrum 37 in such a direction as to ',for,ce the rod 27 toward the leftaas shown in Fig. 3.

.-,Tliis move nent carries the actuator 20 into its operative'relationship to the cutter and a1.-pa'wl arid ratchet "mechanism is provided toiretain the actuator in this position temporarily. Referring to Figs. 4. 5, and 1 6,"it will be seen that the block 26 is slotted to receive a plunger 40 which is recessedto receive a pawl 41 and a spring 42 that holds the pawl in a depressed position wherezit engages the teeth of a ratchet or rack'44' that is secured to the plate 29. The teeth on the ratchet 44 are staggered, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the teeth A and C lying at the front side of the rack 44 and the teeth'B and D at the rear side;

and the plunger 40 is mounted to slide transversely of the ratchet 44 to carry the pawl 41 j'ihto engagement with either line of-teeth. Normally this plunger is held in its forward: position by means of a spring 46 (see 4) and in this position the thus move the plunger 40 inwardly. Provision, of course, is made for adjusting the mechanism for different widths of cloth. It is for this purpose that the slots are formed in the rack 44 and the additional holes are made in the plate 29, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. I

\' It will now be understood that the parts are normally in the relative positions in which they appear in Fig. 3, the lay 2, at

this time being at the forward part of the stroke and the actuator 20 bein in its 111- active or inoperative relations ip to the cutter. While the parts remain in this position,'therefore, the cutter is maintained in its inoperative or inactive condition by the spring 18.. As soon, however, as the action of the weft-replenishing mechanism is initiated, the arm is rocked and the block 26 and the actuator'20 are shifted toward the left (Fig. 3), in the manner above described, where they are held temporarily by the pawl 41 engaging the farthest tooth A (Fig. 5) of the rack 44. This shifting movement of the parts takes place upon the first backward stroke of the lay after the shaft 12 has been rocked. When the lav swings forward again, the wide part 20 of the actuator strikes the inclined portion of the tail piece 22 and operates the shears. thus causing them to cut the weft thread of the spent bobbin in the shuttle which, in the meantime, has been shot through the shed into the shuttle-box 4 in readiness to have its bobbin changed.

While the lay is at the forward part of its stroke the bobbin in the shuttle is changed and when the lay swings back again the shuttle makes its first pick after receiving the new bobbin. When the lay beats upthis pick the actuator 20' strikes the tail piece 22 a second time and thus gives to the cutter its second actuation causing it to sever the new bobbin thread close to the selvage of the cloth.

When the lay makes its first forward stroke after the shifting of the actuator into its operative position, the head 48 of the plunger 40 strikes the stationary arm 50 in about the position indicated in Fig. 5. The arm 50 thus pushes the plunger 40 inwardly toward the lay and moves the pawl 41 out of engagement with the tooth A and behind the tooth B. The tooth B is slightly in ad vance of the tooth A and the spring 30 thus operates at this time to force the .block 26 and the parts carried by it forward until the pawl 41 strikes the tooth B. As soon as the lay 2 swings back away from the arm 50, the spring 46 pushes the plunger 40. forward and moves the pawl 41 back into align-- ment again with the tooth A, but at a point in front of the tooth A and immediately be-" hind the tooth C. This allows the spring 30 to push the block 26 ahead a short distance until the pawl 41 strikes the tooth C.

"The pawl and ratchet mechanism then maintains the parts in this position, as shown in Fig. 6, until the next forward stroke of the lay, when the operation just described is repeated bythe second contact of the plunger head 48 with the stationary arm 50. That is, the plunger 40 is pushed over until the pawl is behind the tooth D and the spring 30 pushes the block 26 ahead until the pawl strikes this tooth. The second cutting movement of the shears takes place at this time, and when the lay swings backward again, the spring 46 slides the plunger 40 to the left, thus moving the pawl 41 laterally out of engagement with the tooth D, whereupon the spring 30 slides the block 26 and the parts carried thereby toward the right (Fig. 3) until the collar 32 strikes the bearing member 28. This movement carries the actuator into its inoperative relationship to the cutter and it is thereafter maintained in this position until the next weft-replenishing operation is initiated.

It will thus be seen that the initiation of the operation of the weft-replenishing mechanism brings into operation means that shiftthe actuator into its operative relationshipto the cutter and that thereafter the actuator is returned to its normal or inoperative position again by an automatic mechanism which operates step by step and which allows the actuator to operate the cutter'only a predetermined number of times. The cutting mechanism and the operating parts therefor are at rest at all times except during the relatively short period immediately after the action of the weft-replenishing mechanism has been initiated, and conse quently, the mechanism is subject to very little wear. It will also be evident that the mechanism is entirely automatic in its action, that its movements are, for the most part, positively effected and that it operates with absolute certainty. By using a weftcutting mechanism of this character, it is not necessary to use the second cutter which usually is employed and is located close to the shuttlebox.

While the cutter has herein been shown as mounted on the temple, it is obvious that.

ment herein shown and described without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

hat is claimed as new, is:'-

1. In a Weft replenishing loom, the com bination of a lay, a weft cutter, a normally stationary support for said cutter, an actuator for said cutter carried by the lay, a spring operative to hold said actuator normally in an inoperative position with reference to said cutter, means controlled by the weft replenishing mechanism for shifting said actuator into its operative re; lationship to the cutter, and additional means for retaining said actuator temporarily in said operative position while it operates the cutter a plurality of times and then allowing said spring to return the actuator again to its inoperative position.

2, In a weft-replenishing loom, the co1nbination of a lay, a. weft cutter supported on a stationary part of the machine, an actuator for said cutter carried by the lay and normally held in an inoperative position with reference .to the cutter, means controlled by the weft-replenishing mechanism for shifting said actuator longitudinally of the lay into itsoperative relationship to .the cutter, and means for automatically returning said actuator to its inoperative position again after it has operated the cutter a predetermined number of times.

3. In a weft-replenishing loom, the combination of a lay, a weft cutter, an actuator for said cutter carried by the lay, a spring acting on said actuator to hold it normally in an inoperative position with reference to the cutter, means controlled by the weft-replenishing mechanism for shifting said actuator into its operative relationship to the cutter, a pawl and ratchet mechanism arranged to retain the actuator temporarily in said operative position, said 4. In a weft-replenishing loom, the comr bination with a lay, of a weft-cutter, an actuating device for said cutter carried by the lay, a spring acting on said device to hold it normally in an inoperative position with reference to said cutter, mechanism controlled by the weft-replenishing means for moving said device into its operative position against the tens-ion of said spring, a. pawl and ratchet mechanism arranged to retain said device in its operative position, and means for releasing said pawl and ratchet mechanism at predetermined times to enable said spring to return said actuator step by step to its inoperative position.

5. In a Weft-replenishing loom, the combination of a lay, a Weft cutter, an actuator for said cutter carried by the lay, a spring operative to hold said actuator normally in an inoperative relationship to said cutter, means controlled by the weft replenishing mechanism for shifting said actuator into its operative relationship to said cutter, and means comprising a ratchet and pawl mechanism for retaining said actuator temporarily in said operative position but arranged to be released automatically after the cutter has been operated a predetermined number of times to allow said spring to return the actuator again to its inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HENRY H. GOVE. 

